Trusty prisoner work crews used for projects in parish, including helping the Levee District on back levees and canals, and working with parish government on litter clean-up and removing debris
Dep. Jason Mayer oversses a work crew picking up debris on the neutral ground next to the De La Ronde Ruins on St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette.
 A prisoner uses a chain saw to cut up a tree for removal. |
 A trusty prisoner picks up debris along West St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette as part of a prisoner work crew doing a project of litter removal and cleaning storm drains in conjunction with parish government. |
A trusty prisoner from St. Bernard Parish Prison operates a mini-excavator as part of a work crew helping the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District cut down and remove dying trees along the 20 Arpent Canal at the entrance of Deer Creek subidivsion in Violet to prevent them from falling over in the canal and blocking drainage. In the background watching are, at left, Dep. Ryan Laylle of the Corrections Division and Louis Pomes of the Levee District. Prison crews are also working on back levees and other projects in a partnership between the Sheriff’s Office and the Levee District .
With plenty of available labor in St. Bernard Parish Prison, Sheriff James Pohlmann has assigned several trusty prisoner work crews to parish projects, including one with the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District working on back levees and canals and one working with parish government on litter clean-up including removing debris from storm drains.
“There are many ways we can use prisoner work crews to help public areas in the parish look good and safeguard the drainage systems to help prevent flooding in rain events,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said.
“We are doing that now in several areas, in conjunction with the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District and parish government,’’ the sheriff said.
Teaming up with the levee agency, trusty prisoners – under the watch of deputies from the corrections division – have been working for months helping use equipment on back levees and recently preparing for hurricane season by removing dead or dying trees along canal banks, using chain saws and mini-excavators.
Using the prisoners “has been working out well,’’ said Louis Pomes, levee superintendent for the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District in St. Bernard, which is part of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority, a state agency which oversees flood risk management for East Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard parishes.
The work crews from the Sheriff’s Office are saving taxpayer money by doing some projects in-house, Pomes said. And, he said, it helps teach a trade to prisoners to enable them to get a job when they serve out their sentence and hopefully break the cycle of crime.
Dep. Ryan Laylle of the Corrections Division has been in charge of a work crew helping the Levee District, which reimburses the Sheriff’s Office for his time, Pomes said.
A prisoner work crew overseen by Dep. Jason Mayer of the Corrections Division recently began working in conjunction with road crews from parish government to pick up litter along major highways and clean out debris from storm drains before the parish cuts grass on public areas.
They have been working on the Louisiana 46 Extension, St. Bernard Highway and other highways and neutral grounds.
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